Supply Chain & Food Safety

“If we wouldn’t serve it to our families, we won’t sell it.”

Wouldn’t it be nice if every company thought that way? At Metropolitan, this phrase backs up every product we sell. From the safety of our teas, durability of our accessories and sustainability of our practices, we look out for our customers in everything we do.

Our commitment to food safety

We take an active role in ensuring safe agricultural practices on all estates we buy from. We conduct regular audits of chemical input residue, and adhere to EU food safety standards — the world’s most stringent.

100% safe stainless steel

Unlike dollar store stainless that quickly corrodes during the brewing process, we use only food-safe 18/8 stainless steel. This will not corrode or leach harmful properties into your tea.

All teas and herbs are vacuum packed in specially designed Flavor-Sealed bags. This preserves garden freshness and protects against contaminants during shipping.

Tea Safety Case Study: Tea & the Fukushima nuclear event.

Safety challenge

For decades, we purchased 100% of our Japanese teas from farms located in the north of Japan. In 2011, that changed with the Fukushima nuclear event. Immediately, rather than risk buying radioactive teas, we halted all Japanese purchases.

Our solution

As an interim measure, we began working with growers in China to develop quality Japanese-style teas. After a number of years — once we were satisfied with radioactivity readings in the south of Japan — we resumed purchases from Japan but only from safe southern farms.

Note: We still do not buy from Northern Japanese farms. The safety of our customers is not worth the risk.